Optical touch device

ABSTRACT

An optical touch module includes an LED circuit board and a control circuit board. Multiple LED components are disposed on one face of the LED circuit board. The other face faces the control circuit board. The other face of the control circuit board is connected with the at least one L-shaped connection board. A first connector and a second connector are positioned in a space between overlapping sections of the LED circuit board and the control circuit board and mated with each other. The control circuit board has at least one third connector mated with a fourth connector of the L-shaped connection board. Electronic components and/or an extension section of a filter member are positioned in the space.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a touch module and a devicethereof, and more particularly to an optical touch module and a devicethereof.

2. Description of the Related Art

Due to the promotion of the quality of LED and the advance of themanufacturing process, optical touch module has the advantages of hightransparency, sensitivity to touch of any material and applicability tolarge-size device. Accordingly, optical touch module is currently widelyapplied to various displays. The principle of the optical touch displayis to employ LED transmitters and LED receivers arranged on oppositesides of the surface of the display. The infrared LEDs around thesurface of the display screen form a dense infrared network in X axisand Y axis on the surface. When a nontransparent object interrupts theinfrared ray, the X-axis and Y-axis coordinates are naturally found. Theinfrared LEDs are independent from each other.

The location can be achieved simply by means of analyzing theinterruption position. Finally, a control circuit calculates andtransmits the signal to a PC to show the touch position on the screen.Alternatively, other programs will execute other signal operation andapplication. The infrared touch panel is triggered by means ofinterrupting the LED infrared signal so that the signal can be triggeredwithout touching the substrate. Therefore, the infrared touch panel hasthe advantage of high sensitivity.

FIG. 1A is a top view of a conventional infrared touch device 10. Theinfrared touch device 10 includes a frame body composed of four infraredtouch modules 11. Two sets of corresponding LED transmitters 12 and LEDreceivers 13 are respectively disposed on two opposite sides of theframe body. The LED transmitters 12 are respectively aimed at the LEDreceivers 13.

FIG. 1B is a sectional view taken along line X-X of FIG. 1A, which showsthe cross section of one side of the infrared touch device 10 forillustrating the composition of one infrared touch module 11 (as shownin FIG. 1A). The LED transmitter is taken as an example in the drawing.However, the LED receiver has the same composition.

The infrared touch circuit module includes a control circuit board 111on which an LED circuit board 112 is disposed. The LED transmitter 12 isdisposed on the LED circuit board 112. Control IC is disposed on thecontrol circuit board 111 for controlling the LED transmitter 12 of theLED circuit board 112. The control circuit board 111 and the LED circuitboard 112 are connected with each other by means of soldering.Accordingly, multiple first soldering points 15 of solder material areformed between the opposite faces of the control circuit board 111 andthe LED circuit board 112 in predetermined positions. The controlcircuit board 111 and the LED circuit board 112 are connected throughthe first soldering points 15, whereby the signals of the two circuitboards are transmitted through the first soldering points 15. Ingeneral, in consideration of the signal transmission between the twocircuit boards, there is more than one first soldering point 15.Generally, the solder material is formed of those metal materials withlower melting point, such as tin.

Please refer to FIG. 1C, which is a perspective view of the conventionalinfrared touch device composed of four infrared touch modules 11connected with each other to form the frame body. Four L-shapedconnection boards 16 are used as four corners of the frame body. EachL-shaped connection board 16 is connected between two infrared touchmodules 11 of two sides of the frame body. That is, each infrared touchmodule 11 is connected between two L-shaped connection boards 16. Thefour infrared touch modules 11 are connected with each other via thefour L-shaped connection boards 16 to form the frame body.

Please now refer to FIG. 1D, which is a sectional view taken along lineY-Y of FIG. 1C. The four L-shaped connection boards 16 arc disposedunder the control circuit board 111 and connected therewith by means ofsoldering. Multiple second soldering points 17 of solder material areformed between the control circuit board 111 and the

L-shaped connection boards 16 in predetermined positions. By means ofthe second soldering points 17, the four infrared touch modules 11 areconnected with each other for signal transmission therebetween.

According to the above, each L-shaped connection board 16 is connectedbetween the control circuit boards 111 of two infrared touch modules 11of two sides of the frame body. In general, there are more than onefirst soldering point 15 and more than one second soldering point 17.Therefore, it takes long time to complete the soldering operation and itis hard to control the quality. Moreover, it is impossible to arrangeany component on the opposite faces of the control circuit board 111 andthe LED circuit board 112, that is, the overlapping sections of the twocircuit boards. As a result, the infrared touch device 10 has a largeinvalid area. This is unbeneficial to circuit design and it is hard torework or service the device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide anoptical touch module and a device thereof. In the optical touch module,the LED circuit board and the control circuit board are connected witheach other by means of connectors for signal transmission between thetwo circuit boards. The connectors can be repeatedly plugged andunplugged so that it is convenient to locate and assemble the opticaltouch modules without any soldering process. In this case, themalfunction due to improper soldering operation can be avoided.Moreover, the optical touch module is easy to rework and service andreassemble into the original state.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide the aboveoptical touch module and the device thereof. In the optical touchmodule, the LED circuit board and the control circuit board areconnected with each other by means of connectors, whereby a height gapexists between the opposite faces of the LED circuit board and thecontrol circuit board. This increases usable space so that electroniccomponents with a height smaller than that of the connectors can bearranged on the opposite faces of the LED circuit board and the controlcircuit board. Also, an extension section of a filter member can extendinto the space to increase the connection strength as a whole.

To achieve the above and other objects, the optical touch module of thepresent invention includes: an LED circuit board having a first top faceand a first bottom face, multiple LED components being disposed on thefirst top face, the first bottom face having at least one firstconnector; and a control circuit board positioned under the LED circuitboard, the control circuit board having a second top face and a secondbottom face, the second top face facing the first bottom face of the LEDcircuit board and having at least one second connector correspondinglyin adaptation to the first connector, the second bottom face having atleast one third connector, the first and second connectors beingvertically mated with each other so as to connect the control circuitboard under the LED circuit board, a height gap existing between the LEDcircuit board and the control circuit board, whereby a space ispositioned between correspondingly overlapping sections of the firstbottom face of the LED circuit board and the second top face of thecontrol circuit board, the first and second connectors being positionedin the space.

The optical touch device of the present invention includes: multipleoptical touch modules and multiple L-shaped connection boards, which areassembled to form a frame body, each optical touch module including: anLED circuit board having a first top face and a first bottom face,multiple LED components being disposed on the first top face, the firstbottom face having multiple first connectors; and a control circuitboard positioned under the LED circuit board, the control circuit boardhaving a second top face and a second bottom face, the second top facefacing the first bottom face of the LED circuit board and having atleast one second connector correspondingly in adaptation to the firstconnectors, the second bottom face having at least one third connector,each L-shaped connection board having a third top face facing the secondbottom face of the control circuit board, the third top face of theL-shaped connection board having at least one fourth connectorcorrespondingly in adaptation to the third connector, the L-shapedconnection board being positioned under two adjacent control circuitboards, the first and second connectors being vertically mated with eachother and the third and fourth connectors being also vertically matedwith each other, whereby the control circuit board is connected underthe LED circuit board and the L-shaped connection board is connectedunder the control circuit board, a height gap existing between the LEDcircuit board and the control circuit board, whereby a space ispositioned between correspondingly overlapping sections of the firstbottom face of the LED circuit board and the second top face of thecontrol circuit board, the first and second connectors being positionedin the space.

Alternatively, the optical touch device of the present inventionincludes: multiple optical touch modules each including: an LED circuitboard having a first top face and a first bottom face, multiple LEDcomponents being disposed on the first top face, the first bottom facehaving multiple first connectors; and a control circuit board positionedunder the LED circuit board, the control circuit board having a secondtop face and a second bottom face, the second top face facing the firstbottom face of the LED circuit board and having at least one secondconnector correspondingly in adaptation to the first connectors, thesecond bottom face having at least one third connector; multipleL-shaped connection boards each having a third top face facing thesecond bottom face of the control circuit board, the third top face ofthe L-shaped connection board having at least one fourth connectorcorrespondingly in adaptation to the third connector, the L-shapedconnection board being positioned under two adjacent control circuitboards, the first and second connectors being vertically mated with eachother and the third and fourth connectors being also vertically matedwith each other, whereby the control circuit board is connected underthe LED circuit board and the L-shaped connection board is connectedunder the control circuit board, a height gap existing between the LEDcircuit board and the control circuit board, whereby a space ispositioned between correspondingly overlapping sections of the firstbottom face of the LED circuit board and the second top face of thecontrol circuit board, the first and second connectors being positionedin the space; and multiple filter members respectively connected withthe optical touch modules, each filter member including: a main body; anupper protrusion section extending from an upper end of the main body toone side thereof; and an extension section extending from a lower end ofthe main body to one side thereof, the upper protrusion sectionextending to upper sides of the LED components, the main body beingpositioned in front of the LED components to shield the LED components,the extension section extending into the space between the first bottomface of the LED circuit board and the second top face of the controlcircuit board.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present inventionto achieve the above and other objects can be best understood byreferring to the following detailed description of the preferredembodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1A is a top view of a conventional infrared touch device;

FIG. 1B is a sectional view taken along line X-X of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1C is a perspective view of the conventional infrared touch devicecomposed of four infrared touch modules connected with each other toform a frame body;

FIG. 1D is a sectional view taken along line Y-Y of FIG. 1C;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the optical touch module of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3A is an assembled view of the optical touch module of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3B is a view of a part of the optical touch module of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective exploded view of the optical touch device of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5A is an exploded view of the optical touch device of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5B is an assembled view of the optical touch device of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6A is a sectional view of the optical touch device of the presentinvention, which has a filter member;

FIG. 6B is a top view of the optical touch device of the presentinvention, which has a filter member; and

FIG. 6C is a perspective view of the filter member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIGS. 2 and 3A. FIG. 2 is an exploded view of theoptical touch module of the present invention. FIG. 3A is an assembledview of the optical touch module of the present invention. The opticaltouch module 20 of the present invention includes an LED circuit board21 and a control circuit board 22. The LED circuit board 21 has a firsttop face 211 and a first bottom face 212. Multiple LED components 213are disposed on the first top face 211. The first bottom face 212 has atleast one first connector 214. The control circuit board 22 ispositioned under the LED circuit board 21. The control circuit board 22has a second top face 221 and a second bottom face 222. The second topface 221 faces the first bottom face 212 of the LED circuit board 21 andhas at least one second connector 224 for correspondinglyplug-connecting with the first connector 214. The second bottom face 222has at least one third connector 225 positioned near two ends.

The first connector 214 is a male connector, while the second connector224 is a female connector in adaptation to the first connector 241.Alternatively, the first connector 214 is female connector, while thesecond connector 224 is a male connector in adaptation to the firstconnector 241. The first and second connectors 214, 224 can becorrespondingly plug-connected with each other or disconnected from eachother so that the connectors can be flexibly replaced. The connectormeans a medium for connecting two or more objects, such as a socket, aterminal or wiring harness. The connector generally means the connectioncomponent and the accessory thereof applied to electronic signaltransmission and power supply as a bridge between the interrupted orisolated circuits for passing of current and making the circuitsfunction.

The first and second connectors 214, 224 are vertically mated with eachother so as to connect the control circuit board 22 under the LEDcircuit board 21. A height gap p exists between the LED circuit board 21and the control circuit board 22, whereby a space 23 is positionedbetween the correspondingly overlapping sections of the first bottomface 212 of the LED circuit board 21 and the second top face 221 of thecontrol circuit board 22. The first and second connectors 214, 224 arepositioned in the space 23. The height gap p is defined by the totalthickness of the first and second connectors 214, 224 mated with eachother.

Please now refer to FIG. 3B, which is a view of a part of the touchmodule. The space 23 exists between the overlapping sections of thefirst bottom face 212 of the LED circuit board 21 and the second topface 221 of the control circuit board 22. Under such circumstance, atleast one electronic component can be arranged in the space 23.

The electronic component has a height smaller than the height of thefirst connector 214 or the second connector 224. In the drawing, anelectronic component 261 is disposed under the first bottom face 212 ofthe LED circuit board 21 in a position avoiding the first connector 214.In addition, an electronic component 262 is disposed on the second topface 221 of the control circuit board 22 in a position avoiding thesecond connector 224. The two electronic components 261, 262 arepositioned in the space 23.

Please now refer to FIG. 4, which is a perspective exploded view of theoptical touch device of the present invention. Four optical touchmodules 20 are connected with each other by means of four L-shapedconnection boards 30 to form the optical touch device in the form of aframe body. The four L-shaped connection boards 30 serve as four cornersof the frame body. Each L-shaped connection board 30 is connectedbetween two optical touch modules 20 of two sides of the frame body.That is, two ends of each optical touch module 20 are respectivelyconnected with two L-shaped connection boards 30. The two sets of LEDcomponents 213 of the optical touch modules 20 on two opposite sides ofthe frame body correspond to each other. The

LED components 213 on one side are infrared transmitters, while the LEDcomponents 213 on the opposite side are infrared receivers.

Please now refer to FIGS. 5A and 5B. FIG. 5A is an exploded view of theoptical touch device of the present invention. FIG. 5B is an assembledview of the optical touch device of the present invention. The L-shapedconnection boards 30 are respectively disposed on outer sides of twoends of the control circuit board 22 of each optical touch module 20. Inthe drawings, only the L-shaped connection board 30 at one end is shown.The L-shaped connection board 30 has a third top face 31 on which atleast one fourth connector 32 is disposed.

The first bottom face 212 of the LED circuit board 21 of the opticaltouch module 20 faces the second top face 221 of the lower controlcircuit board 22. The first connector 214 is vertically mated with thesecond connector 224, whereby the control circuit board 22 is connectedunder the LED circuit board 21. The second bottom face 222 of thecontrol circuit board 22 faces the third top face 31 of the L-shapedconnection board 30. The third connector 225 is vertically mated withthe fourth connector 32, whereby the L-shaped connection board 30 isconnected under the control circuit board 22. Accordingly, the fourcorners of the optical touch device are three-layer structures in whichthree layers arc piled up and spaced from each other. The uppermostlayer is the LED circuit board 21, the middle layer is the controlcircuit board 22, while the lowermost layer is the L-shaped connectionboard 30.

The height gap p not only exists between the LED circuit board 21 andthe control circuit board 22, but also exists between the controlcircuit board 22 and the L-shaped connection board 30. The space 23 ispositioned between the correspondingly overlapping sections of the firstbottom face 212 of the LED circuit board 21 and the second top face 221of the control circuit board 22. In addition, a space 36 exists betweenthe overlapping sections of the second bottom face 222 of the controlcircuit board 22 and the third top face 31 of the L-shaped connectionboard 30. The first and second connectors 214, 224 are positioned in thespace 23, while the third and fourth connectors 225, 32 are positionedin the space 36.

The electronic component 261 disposed under the first bottom face 212 ofthe LED circuit board 21 and the electronic component 262 disposed onthe second top face 221 of the control circuit board 22 are positionedin the space 23.

Please refer to FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C. FIG. 6A is a sectional view of theoptical touch device of the present invention, which has a filtermember. FIG. 6A is a top view of the optical touch device of the presentinvention, which has a filter member. FIG. 6C is a perspective view ofthe filter member. The optical touch device of the present inventionfurther includes a filter member 40 disposed in front of each opticaltouch module 20 to shield the LED components 213 from the interferenceof the environmental light. The filter member 40 such as an infraredfilter member is made of a plastic material to which a dye is added. Theinfrared filters are generally classified into two types. The first typeis high-pass filter, which is transparent to the light with a wavelengthlarger than 850 nm or 940 nm. The second type is low-pass filter, whichis transparent to the light with a wavelength within a range from 925 nmto 955 nm. The above filter member is only an example and not intendedto limit the material or form of the filter member of the presentinvention. Other suitable filter members are also applicable to thepresent invention.

The filter member 40 includes a main body 41, an upper protrusionsection 42 extending from an upper end of the main body 41 to one sidethereof and an extension section 43 extending from a lower end of themain body 41 to one side thereof. The upper protrusion section 42extends to upper sides of the LED components 213. The main body 41 ispositioned in front of the LED components 213 to shield the same. Theextension section 43 extends into the space 23 between the first bottomface 212 of the LED circuit board 21 and the second top face 221 of thecontrol circuit board 22.

The extension section 43 is formed with recesses 44 in positions of thefirst and second connectors 214, 224 and the electronic components 261,262 in the space 23. Therefore, the extension section 43 can extend intothe space 23 without interfering with the first and second connectors214, 224 or the electronic components 261, 262. An adhesive layer 45 isdisposed between a lower surface of the extension section 43 and thecontrol circuit board 22. The adhesive layer 45 has adhesion on bothfaces, whereby the extension section 43 is adhered to the controlcircuit board 22. The adhesive layer 45 is such as a double-facedadhesive tape or the like.

In conclusion, four optical touch modules 20 are connected with eachother by means of four L-shaped connection boards 30 to form the opticaltouch device of the present invention in the form of a frame body. Bymeans of the first and second connectors 214, 224 and the third andfourth connectors 225, 32, the LED circuit boards 21 and the controlcircuit boards 22 of the optical touch modules 20 are connected witheach other and the four optical touch modules 20 and the L-shapedconnection boards 30 are connected with each other. Accordingly, notonly the signals can be transmitted between the two circuit boards, butalso the signals can be transmitted between the optical touch modules20. The first and second connectors 214, 224 and the third and fourthconnectors 225, 32 can be repeatedly plugged and unplugged. Therefore,it is convenient to locate and assemble the optical touch modules 20without any soldering process. In this case, the malfunction due toimproper soldering operation can be avoided. Moreover, the optical touchmodules are easy to rework and service and reassemble into the originalstate. A height gap p exists between the opposite faces of the LEDcircuit board 21 and the control circuit board 22. This increases usablespace so that electronic components with a height smaller than that ofthe first and second connectors 214, 224 can be arranged on the oppositefaces of the LED circuit board 21 and the control circuit board 22.Also, the extension section 43 of the filter member 40 can be positionedin the space to increase the connection strength as a whole.

The present invention has been described with the above embodimentsthereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in theabove embodiments can be carried out without departing from the scopeand the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only bythe appended claims.

1. An optical touch module used to connect to at least one L-shapedconnection board, the optical touch module comprising: an LED circuitboard having a first top face and a first bottom face, multiple LEDcomponents being disposed on the first top face, the first bottom facehaving at least one first connector; and a control circuit boardpositioned under the LED circuit board, the control circuit board havinga second top face and a second bottom face, the second top face facingthe first bottom face of the LED circuit board and having at least onesecond connector correspondingly in adaptation to the first connector,the second bottom face having at least one third connector connecting tothe L-shaped connection board, the first and second connectors beingvertically mated with each other so as to connect the control circuitboard under the LED circuit board, a height gap existing between the LEDcircuit board and the control circuit board, whereby a space ispositioned between correspondingly overlapping sections of the firstbottom face of the LED circuit board and the second top face of thecontrol circuit board, the first and second connectors being positionedin the space.
 2. The optical touch module as claimed in claim 1, whereinat least one electronic component is disposed under the first bottomface of the LED circuit board and positioned in the space.
 3. Theoptical touch module as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least oneelectronic component is disposed on the second top face of the controlcircuit board and positioned in the space.
 4. The optical touch moduleas claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one electronic component isdisposed between correspondingly overlapping sections of the firstbottom face of the LED circuit board and the second top face of thecontrol circuit board.
 5. The optical touch module as claimed in claim1, wherein an extension section of a filter member is positioned in thespace.
 6. The optical touch module as claimed in claim 5, wherein theextension section of the filter member is formed with at least onerecess in a position of the first and second connectors.
 7. The opticaltouch module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first connector is amale connector or a female connector, while the second connector is afemale connector or a male connector. 8-23. (canceled)
 24. The opticaltouch module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the L-shaped connectionboard having at least one fourth connector correspondingly in adaptationto the third connector.